Oliver Brüning is a German accelerator physicist who took up the role of CERN Director for Accelerators and Technology in January 2026. He earned his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 1994, following postdoctoral work at DESY on HERA proton beam stability, and took up a CERN fellowship in 1995.​ 

He joined CERN as a staff member in 1997, contributing to LHC optics, commissioning and upgrades. From 2008, he served as LHeC Study Leader and held several leadership roles in beam physics. From 2015 to 2019, he led the LHC Full Energy Exploitation Study, and from 2020 to 2025, he headed the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) Upgrade project. 

Brüning has served on several international committees, including as Chair of the DESY Machine Advisory Committee (2017–2020) and Chair of the EPS Accelerator Group (2008–2011).